coulter



A. D. COULTER.

FIREPROOF SAFE.

APPLICATION FHLED JULY 15. 191 2.

Pzitented May 27, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

Arthur Dflnulter a on: mg

ml: Nnmns puns C01.PHQIwLII'HQ.WASHINGTON a c A. n. COULTER. FIREPRO'OF SAFE. APPLICATION min" JULY 15, 1918.

Patented May 27, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Arthur D. Enulter- 7 ms NORRIS PETERS co.. PMOIWLIYHOH wasmNcmN. n. c y

1,304,855; j j it To all it may concern} w."

Be it known that I, ARTI-I'URD.= Co LTER,

of the city of Seattle, county ofi King, and

Safes, of whichthe followingis a specifica} tion. q l; My invention relates to safes and articue P larly to s'afestthat are intendedfforiprotection against fire, rather than. a'gainstf 'burtglars. The object of my inventionyis'tdprovide V a cheaply constructed safeflwzllich; will have great fire resisting. qualities s that 1 rpurposesfi' where it is desired to @protect'i wpapersjiandj may be used "for a- Wide .variety other valuable" property against destruction larly defined by the claims.

In the accompanying drawlngs, I lave shown my IlIlVGIltlOIllBlllbOdlGd 3 aki's'afe which is ofthe construction which lfInowj. most prefer to use. I amawareflhoweyeryfifi that many of the detailskof the cons'truction I of this safe, particularly inthe=metalbind+ 1 elyi th Fes ing and holding members;;-m ay "b Varied, without, however, 1 chang ng sential'characterlstlcs Qfi'llIG-lIiVGIltlQn;

v Figure 1 shows in; perspectivea safe, con structed 1n accordancei wlth my lnventlony broken away and with portions of'the walls the door omitted. y P 1 r I i v Fig." 2 is aperspective showing tieinside surfaces-0f one of the cornenoa'psLj k a Fig. 3 is an'edge' viewin elevation f the same cap. a i M Fig. 4 is'a perspective'of an en a the angle bars 'lis'e'd for edges of the safe.

Fig.5 is a sectl In carrying out inYention on of a coriie of tlie I employ for the side walls of the safeg slabs eta terial which is highly jresistant to fheat, as

the chief purposezof this ys afefis its contents against fire,

the material whiohI havefou' A able, both because of its fire resisti 7 heat insulating qualities and becauseofthe ease and cheapness with which it: may be produced, consistsof an andes-itice'tufaceous breccia, which is found in large natural de-f posits and which is of such characterthatlt Q l speci ficati o ofljettjs? en ca iicatitii filea auly 5,1918; s riatfiazieees l "in y i I H terl'a lzso astolsuitimy purpose.: a citizen of theiUnlted States, and;,res1dent l resi stance tofblows and, breakage. 1t i b w 1 pioyl ale eta 511' ad these I xtenat y d agonally?{between opposite corners/of the i y and cutinto ma:

Th SmatePialQIhave found-tube I v ,r istanttqheat, as well asja goodinsulator f State of "Wa'shmgton, have invented certainjf new and useful Improvements in Fireproof lend to have aviary-considerable strengthfand 1 Epable, of 1withstailding high" temperatures l w1thout-ftfracturingandis highly resistant to v the transferofiheat.1,,Inffother1words,-j it is agood ins'ulatoragainstheat. 1: u "I-1prepareithiswmaterial byQcutting it nto slabsfot a suitable thickness and size to each a asideofithedesiredsafe. w'lhis may be 1 f eas ly donetasgitimay be cut and worked jby wood pykiagtoolsx" Such slabs"a'r sliowir- 11 sl 'lrtheydrawings, eaclrfonning thewall' of it partieularv side: ofwthe safel Thje'sey a bind" togethervby metalrods F5, which a .i place j withiiiitheg safeg "thesame lyingt closefalongside thefihnerj surfaceof theslabs, (5

ereb} protected againstianxexterhalg1 11 same de ithegfsafea Their locatioir is H elthei closelyagalnst 131101111181 w allrgofipflthe iwl thln ai groove formednrthe lnner dijagonally smug-1i,

bore-d? at-the rope Iia-I'y" bit, asf the materiahwhich :IL employ,

the{tufaceousbreccia, ;:mayflvbe easilyv bore a a and eumbya ordinary I wood: I: cutting ls The;projectingllends offlthe tie irods V v screwed" or Lotherwisel secured to ea s wh ch hover-the" corners l offthe safe; Thesefcaps *bej madei of cast ironand l are] of sueh f j 15 i s ze as to each (form: ananchor for all, he rods whlch converge; to thatllfcorneri ied; t re d y A nds would be akw mwth surf ee r der-to give asuitabledepthte 'the a an H: f t e olts w aps; 1 pm: viole ithe eaps :withfiriternally projectiiig "bosses22 and recesstheslabs asmay bej "essarytojifeceivethese;

Inflordrto prot etfithe cornerfedge of employ protective angle bars 3, which fit over the corners and cover the joints between the edges of the slabs, which form adjacent sides of the safe. The joint shown in Fig. 5 is referred, in which the edges of the slabs are eveled.

These binding angle bars should not be fixedly secured to the caps 2, as their expansion under the heat of a fire might displace the caps and cause the bars 3 to buckle outward and thus somewhat uncover the joint between slabs.

I prefer that the angle bars merely extend under the caps and are held in place thereby. I, therefore, make the caps with square sections 25 which contact directly with the slabs 1 and form recesses 23 of a size to receive the ends of the angle bars. On account of the location of the tie-rod-receiving bosses 22, being located away from the extreme corner so as to be alined with the inner surface of the slabs 1, the ends of the angle bars are provided with notches to I also provide a ug 24 which engages by its edges with the edges of the flanges of the angle bars.

By this method of construction the tierods 5, which provide the strength to bind the parts together, are inside the safe and protected from heat externally applied. They will not stretch to permit opening of cracks between the slabs, because they are not exposed to the heat of the fire.

The caps 2 to which the tie rods 5 are anchored are made of cast iron which will stand a high degree of heat, and therefore are unlikely to burn away so but that they will serve as anchors for these rods.

Those of the caps which are placed at the bottom of the safe may be made with lugs 21 which form supports for wheels 26.

I have not shown a door to the safe although, of course, a door would be employed.

.- As, however, the construction and manner of securing the door forms no part of my present invention, I have thought it unnecessary to illustrate the same. This door may be of any suitable construction and may be 4 mounted and secured in any convenient and suitable manner. I contemplate that the body of the door shall be of a slab of the same material as the other sides of the safe.

The tufaceous breccia, fromwhich I make the slabs Which form the walls of the safe,

which the walls of the pores are formed, is highly resistant to heat. In consequence it is capable of standing a very high temperature and this for a considerable time. It

will not fuse at a temperature likely to occur in any ordinary fire, nor will it crack. Its heat insulating qualities are such that combustible material contained in the safe will be uninjured, even after a considerable exposure of the safe to a strong fire. As the material may be very cheaply produced and the safe cheaply put together, it may be sold at a price which will permit its use in many places Where the present expense of an efiicient fire proof cabinet would not be justified. .In this safe, no reliance is made upon any metal part which is directly exposed to the temperature of the fire to maintain the integrity of the safe, with the sole exception of the caps at the corners, to which the tie rods are secured. While the angle bars, 3, at the corners of. the safe are exposed. to the temperature of the fire, their function in holding the parts of the safe together is comparatively slight. They do form a desirable finish for the safe and protect the corners against injury by chance blows. At the same time, for holding the safe together under the action of the high temperature of fire, they might be discarded. I do, how ever, consider them desirable for other puroses.

Vhat I claim as my invention is: t

1. A safe having its sides composed of slabs of a heat resistant and insulating stone, angle bars exteriorly engaging the corner edges of the safe, tie rods lying along the inner surfaces of said slabs and extending diagonally of-the safe and with their ends projecting through said slabs, and caps for said rods enga ing the outer corners of said ilabs and over apping the ends of the angle ars. I l

2. A safe having its side walls composed of slabs of a heat-resistant and insulating stone, tie rods extending diagonally of and against the inner surface of said side walls, metal caps exteriorly covering the corners of the safe to which said tie rods are anchored, angle bars covering the exterior edges of the safe and having their ends-ex: tendingbeneath said caps.

Signed at Seattle, \Vashington, this 29th day of June, 1918.

ARTHUR D. COULTER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eachpb y addressing the Commissioner of ratents, Washington, D. 0. 

